The Theory of Happily Ever After

March 26, 2018
Billerbeck (What a Girl Wants) delves into the science of happiness in this winsome romance. Happiness expert and college lecturer Maggie McGuire has hit a funk after a devastating breakup and now hides away from the world with gelato and romantic movies. To cheer Maggie up, her friends surprise her with a week-long singles cruise—and little does Maggie know that they have also set her up as the cruise’s keynote speaker. While moping about the ship, she bumps into Sam Wellington, a Silicon Valley investor who challenges Maggie’s academic research into happiness. After her friends’ plan is revealed and Maggie begins planning her speech, she oscillates between trying to get out of her funk and wanting to continue to drown her sorrows in more ice cream. As Maggie confronts the possibility that her own research could be inaccurate, Sam’s criticism of her work begins to appear more level-headed and her feelings toward him begin to grow. Despite the happy ending that feels inevitable throughout the book, Maggie never truly investigates her depressive thinking. Billerbeck’s characters are flat and the faith elements are slim, but the sweet will-they-or-won’t-they of Sam and Maggie’s courtship will please readers looking for an unchallenging romance.

May 1, 2018
Dr. Maggie Maguire may be the leading research expert in the field of happiness science, but the recent collapse of her personal life has her questioning everything she thought she knew about finding joy in life. When her best friends surprise her with a week on a singles cruise to jump-start her work and love life, her resistance is palpable. Desperation sets in as fellow cruisers anticipate her keynote address. As brooding but handsome businessman Sam Wellington simultaneously challenges and woos her, the data reveal that happiness is more than positivity and people pleasing. Billerbeck (The Scent of Rain, 2012) returns with a light Christian chick-lit novel just in time for the summer beach-read season, taking on stereotypes of femininity, intellect, and worth within an exciting cruise-ship setting with plenty of sunshine and gelato. Maggie's science is approachable; her self-doubt and lapse in faith are relatable. Wonderfully central to the story are the loyal female friendships guiding Maggie's journey to awareness, providing the protagonist with accountability, support, and overdue fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)